Originally written by Colin Weston · 18 August 2005
Hello there fun lovers. It's taken a while but the powers of Drowned in Sound have finally infiltrated Essex University. The first DiS night doubles up as the first Discord:Live night. As well as the DJs spinning the tunes, DiS has thrown in not one but TWO live bands for the night. Wanna know more? Check it out.
TEAM
TEAM formed in June of 2003 in Leicester. Their debut EP ‘[50,000][Dead Sharks]’, was self-released in early 2004 and recorded on a friend’s pig farm in deepest darkest Leicestershire, a mere six weeks into the band’s existence. They are rare treat – a fully developed band, ready to flex their musical muscles and a secret waiting to be shared.
Pre-TEAM, Scott and Dave played in a band that dissolved when RAF man Dave was dispatched to Basra, Iraq whilst Scott travelled to Australia to take part in international athletics. This is not your normal band.
“We are TEAM,” says Scott of the band’s moniker, “we're a unit. We operate like one and work and feed off each other like a team. It's simple and direct.”
Glimpses of post-rock, punk rock and progressive delight flutter by...but this is far too difficult, too complex and heart-felt to categorise with words alone. As an unsigned band TEAM have already garnered an unbelievable amount of press and radio attention. So far reviews have compared them to the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age, Fugazi, Mogwai, Nirvana and Lift to Experience.
Website: http://www.teamtm.co.uk/ MP3: Punk Rock Motors
Mercury Tilt Switch
With self-professed influences ranging from dEUS, Idlewild, Cay & R.E.M to name just a few, the band tour constantly around Scotland and run their own Pet Piranha Records... nice!
Past tour support has included the likes of Deftones, Jetplane landing, Dive Dive, Biffy Clyro, Aereogramme, JJ72, McLusky, Snow Patrol and Redjetson. Still not convinced? Well, these guys had good things to say too!
"the most exciting Scottish rock band to emerge in aeons" - NME "following in the footsteps of idlewild and aereogramme... the kind of band who'll make Scotland proud" - Rocksound "beautifully merge..Trail of Dead's chaotic psychedelia and Fugazi's high-energy righteous punk noise with stunning results" - Kerrang! “fast ‘n’ furious riffing, very fine noise indeed” – The Fly
Website: http://www.mtsonline.co.uk/ MP3: Shell
So there you have it, the first of the Essex DiS nights between now and Christmas, hope to see you there!